Central Coast Section Division V finals
Saturday's game
King's Academy (10-2) vs Carmel (12-0) at Westmont High, 7 p.m.
So what do we know about King's Academy?
Well, it will be an 'A' league team next year.
And head coach Pete Lavorato has a history of beating county teams in the postseason.
While at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton, Lavorato's teams went 5-1 in the postseason against county teams, including a 39-32 win over Carmel in the Central Coast Section Division IV finals in 2010.
While at Sacred Heart Prep, Lavorato's non-league record against teams from Monterey County was 3-2, including a 76-55 win at Carmel.
The only program he couldn't beat was Palma three times. Lavorato is familiar with the area, having had a previous coaching stint in Gilroy.
He also played professional football in the Canadian Football League, having been apart of five Grey Cup title teams in Edmonton as a defensive back. He also coached one year with Edmonton in 1995.
It took two years for Lavorato to turn the Knights program around, going from 4-6 last fall to 10-2 and into the CCS Division V finals on Saturday.
King's Academy's only losses this fall are to Christian of El Cajon by two points in its season opener and to Burlingame.
It has outscored two playoff opponents 97-20, knocking off Monterey 55-14 last week. It has scored 50 or more points in four of its last six games.
Braylon Lux will be the best player Carmel sees all year, having rushed for nearly 1,500 yards and 21 touchdowns, while catching 31 passes for 701 yards and nine touchdowns.
Don't discount junior Jayden Frazier, who has quietly rushed for 700 yards and 13 touchdowns.
You're not going to have a lot of success running the ball against the Knights defense. You can move the ball threw the air -- if you can protect the quarterback from their blitz packages.
John Devine has been writing about high school sports in Monterey County since, well, practically since he was an athlete at King City in the days just after leather helmets. In PrepNation, John has even more in-depth analysis of the latest results and news he's brought to you in The Herald and in his weekly videos.
Follow Me
The Monterey County Herald reserves the right to edit posts and delete any comments that violate the Terms of Service & Privacy Agreement.
1 comment:
It will be a rainy, cold evening in San Jose as well. I wonder how that may impact Carmel's air attack? Given the they have 3 or 4 guys who can take it to the house each time they touch the ball I think Carmel will still be able to find ways to move the ball and score points on TKA. This one comes down to which defense gets more stops and who wins the turnover battle. Carmel's special teams have been stellar as well this season, which might be a game changer.
Post a Comment